Acceptable Worship: Love of Neighbor

Have you enjoyed the rich Christology of the book of Hebrews? Have you relished in His great high priesthood, foreshadowed in the temple and the sacrifices? Has all this wonderful knowledge sparked a greater love and exultation of the Son of God, who is greater than all who came before Him? It has been said that great theology prompts great doxology. But there is an equally necessary horizontal component to worship that also is affected by increased knowledge of Jesus Christ. Worship (the Greek word latreuo) may equally be rendered as service. Correctly understood, worship is our day-to-day life as we love God and love and serve others. Doing all things to the glory of God involves aspects of how we treat our neighbors with whom our lives intersect in the body of Christ, our family, our leaders. As great theology prompts great doxology, it is also true that great theology prompts great service to one another.

God does not leave the question of how to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him to guesswork or mystical ideas. Acceptable service is revealed in His Word as imperatives (commands). What does all of the rich theology in the epistle look like in day-to-day life? Under the banner of "Let brotherly love remain." These command are: 1) do not neglect hospitality, 2) remember those in prison and ill-treated, 3) honor marriage, 4) live contended lives – free from the love of money, 5) remember your leaders and imitate their faith. If we have been truly affected by the deep theology of the book of Hebrews, it will manifest in our lives in these ways.